Ryan
Sitemap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' Andrew Ryan (The Founder of Rapture) ' * See Also The_Meeting * See Also Ryan_is_still_Alive * See Also Ryan Industries * See Also Central_Control Where You Are Face To Face * See Also Players_FORCE_FED_-_Ryan_The_Villain * ' SEE Ryan And Fontaine ' --- --- --- --- --- "There is something more powerful than each of us, a combination of our efforts, a Great Chain of industry that unites us." - Andrew Ryan --- --- --- Ryan - Given A Bum Rap (By the game writers) : Ryan got Rapture built and ran it for over a decade, and also he had built an industrial empire starting from nothing previous. The City could not have been just 'thrown together', it would have had to be carefully planned and executed and cohesively run. To do all that, Ryan would not be ignorant of how things really worked in the modern world. With the instability ADAM brought (largely helped along by Fontaine who intentionally sought to disrupt Rapture), it was actually amazing that Ryan kept things running with his City under such attack. One wonders how long our own lives would last and things hold together, IF our outside world was subjected to such damage. Of course, Ryan was made "the bad guy" for fighting to keep his City from destruction. What he was shown to have done was far short of what our democracy did during WW2 in our own countries. The game developers are exploiting the Players ignorance. They (most Players) have today had lives so Easy and Safe for so long, that somehow they think things would be somehow different if THEY were faced with such a threat. The people represented in the game came out of WW2 and the Great Depression, and THEY would KNOW better. Unfortunately (and ignorantly) they aren't really portrayed that way. The few inhabitants which you are allowed to hear from (and the developers obviously gave little clue about) evidence a lack of such previous traumatic experiences to shape their behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan and Rapture, Rapture and Ryan : I don't accept Ryan being the one dimensional cutout 'villain' character they turn him into BECAUSE he would HAVE TO BE more than what they portray -- For him to have achieved what he did (and what the people of Rapture would have also realistically done). This can be realized when one knows and appreciates more about the real world (which this game allegedly was supposed to employ as a Foil against the Genetics 'Shock' aspect of the story). It was sophomoric to have him be inconsistently portrayed in the game (again a cohesive/logical story WAS NOT the priority when you are kludging together a shooter game - they were only a third of the way to showing us how interesting Rapture actually was - even just from its ruins). Rapture didn't fall because of Ryan, it fell because Society (one similarly close to our own) fell apart because of the influence of a NEW element (the 'BIO' in BioShock). Rapture's society did not have the mechanisms to handle such a threat (or rather had many available mechanisms ignored to force the plot). The vagueness of much of the narrative (its like trying to reconstruct 'The Story' from splotches of French tears and vomit on The Champs Elysees after the Nazi have taken Paris and marched through) leaves ALOT open to interpretation and begs further "Reading Between the Lines". Unfortunately they had the alibi of a limited budget and no real need for good storytelling (the primacy of the game's gunplay/killing activity trumps all). --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . Ryan's Earlier History - How he became an Industrial Magnate : This all would be fiction, as someone as rich/influential as Ryan was portrayed would be known, but he could be modeled after various archetypes (Howard Hughes building his Aerospace/Transportation/Entertainment businesses... though Hughes did start out with his father's substantial business fortune in the mid 20s, which Ryan didn't have in the BioShock backstory). Ryan came to America in the early 1920s .. The Roaring 20s People who played the upward Stock Market and then got out before The Crash ('29) did very well, and money during the Depression actually deflated, making it worth even more. The Great Depression decade did offer big opportunities to those who had money. Business may have suffered because of that overall economic slowdown, but if Ryan's industrial venture were in an expanding business like electrical power systems (stated as his specialty), then losses could be minimal and the potential expansion great. Big government building/construction projects likewise were happening at that time (another appropriate industry which fit Ryan's required Know-how for Rapture later). Likewise if a business was involved-in/associated-with War Production, it could grow off government money in the war boom years. Ryan may have detested the wars of the "Ant Men", but it wouldn't have stopped him from taking advantage of the business opportunities. It would be important at the time of Rapture's building that Ryan's accumulated wealth was not shrunk by a 'Firesale' as he left the Surface world. So a gradual selloff of his empire during the first period while Rapture was built (upto '52), and even afterward as further resources were expended for Rapture's adjustments and modifications. Even upto (and after) the time of Ryan's "death", his Surface Empire may have continue in part, and even regrew as part of the 50s boom times. --- --- --- That Unfortunate 'Too Fast' Event Schedule/Timeline - Even For the Original BioShock Story Ryan, A foreigner showing up as a child, probably with little money (How much business would his father have available that wasn't confiscated by the Bolsheviks in Soviet run Russia ??) Builds a HUGE industrial empire (Very rich - 100s of millions of dollars) : * When still underage well into the 1920s * During the Great Depression most of the 1930s (even the US Government ran out of money) * Through WW2 which ended/slowed/redirected alot of commerce which wasn't war related * Starting Rapture right at the end of WW2 (and the Recession in the US economy in 1945) So its NOT quite like Howard Hughes, who had a family fortune to start with and who was in his majority at the start of 1920s. ---- Ryan's Technical Developments : Done withing his Industrial Empire : * Deep Sea Construction (with improvements made while actually doing construction). Definitely need advancements in practical use (things like ocean drilling rigs got started after WW2). Water construction had been used for large products like Dams. * Remote Monitoring and Control - required to improve efficiency of Rapture construction * Geothermal Power systems used to Power Rapture (particularly as used on the massive scale needed to provide Rapture with the power it needs). Posit improvements in simplicity and ruggedness for technology available at the time (middle 40s), and for Rapture's limited scope. Ryan was himself supposed to be a master 'Power' technologist (possibly the basis for his Surface fortune, with the major expansions of that industry in The World in the 20s and 30s). * Ryanium - Something that the Author of the Rapture Novel thought up. It is made to sound like a metal, but it is better to be the specialized material Rapture's windows are made of, needed to withstand the forces of the sea depths pressure (and also possessing the needed optical qualities) better than glass. Far more expensive if that material was ever used structurally (Leave that upto massed Ferro-Concrete). * Improved versions of Plasma Cutters were developed (ontop of Ryan's previous industrial development) which (eventually) made the seabed tunnel boring machines so efficient (and allowed the extensive and cheaper tunnel complexes to be subsequently built in Rapture -- until more of Rapture was underground, than being in Cityscape buildings). ---- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1948 Ryan (In Rapture) supervising testing of a new Geothermal station. That huge turbine 'thing' at Hephaestus became alot of window dressing (kept for 'Tours') when the smaller distributed Turbine installations fairly early became the primary power source in Rapture. Flexibility and maintainability was something that Andrew Ryan understood about power systems. It (fictionally) was what he grew his fortune with during the Roosevelt Depression in America. . . . . . . . . . ---- Andrew Ryan's Rise : Ryan (because of his meteoric rise from a (near) penniless immigrant in ~1920 to industrial magnate by the 1940s) must have avoided the 1929 Wall Street Crash. He may have made alot of money/profits buying companies/resources cheap from that financial mess. Industries which were still growing even through the Depression : The Electric Power Industry (named in-game as something Ryan was a Howard-Hughes-like expert at). Other parts of the World recovered sooner than the USA, them possibly having much less government meddling in their economies, which may have offered plenty of opportunities for Ryan's industrial empire to expand. Ryan selling things to the Nazis ? Oh, my !! Like IBM selling census tallying machines which were used to register all Germans, and coincidentally 'mark' Jews for later persecution. That's an oft repeated lil anti-capititalism nugget certain philistines usually mention to fool ignorant/pliable people. ---- Alternate Realities without that Multiverse BS Bad Fantasy " '' And so, I asked myself, in what country was there a place for men like me? Men who refused to say yes to the parasites and the doubters. Men who believed that work was sacred and property rights inviolate. And then one day the happy answer came to me, my friends: there was NO country for people like me. And THAT was the moment I decided... to build one. '' " - Andrew Ryan It would be interesting to see what other alternatives Ryan had been investigating. When he finally made his decision, the "North Atlantic Project" started happening very rapidly. Many resources must have already seen a great deal of work to get going so fast. With the MMORPG's open creation system and expansive content, all kinds of background things can be created/elaborated to hint at this part of Rapture's story. ---- Proof Ryan was not killed. While on fire 'he' continues to blithely play golf. Obvious Animatronic Ryan still playing golf while burning. Ryan caught Fontaine within his own trap. ---- SPOILER ALERT - RYAN MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE ---- . . . ---- Ryansflask.jpg Gameenginelimitation.jpg RyansCarG.jpg|Ryans Automobile On The Surface KillTheParasiteAtlas2.jpg|On Ryans Desk Shadowclue2.jpg|Fake Ryan Fooled Jack Thinkofsomething_gold.jpg RyansSub.jpg|Ryans Private Sub Animatronicryan.jpg|If it can be done once... AnimatronicRyan.jpg|Remember Jack's a 4yr old RyanFiguredItOut2.jpg|Ryan figured it out EvidenceRyanKnew.jpg Zeusorsomebody.jpg|From somewhere came this guy named 'Zeus' ClonedRyan.jpg|Fate of every Character was to have their data reused for a generic corpse Only50feetaway.jpg|Placed so only Booker got a good view of it RI.jpg Ryancat.jpg|Meme Now CohensTableau.jpg|Bloody Footprints, rather suspicious Ding.jpg SoDeadRyanStarterWanderingAroundInHisIronyManPersona.jpg|I am Zeus ... RyanOldSport.jpg FromTheDeskOfAndrewRyan2.jpg Letsnowtalkseriouslyaboutconstipation.jpg|Likely Ryan Didnt Do Such Advertisements, though he may have referred to Atlas or Lamb as "Intestinal Parasites" BDmaybe.jpg|Mystery for BS3 RyansWisdom.jpg|Seriously whats a 4 years old ADAM-Addled mutant to make of ANYTHING Ryans says to him ??? --- --- --- Rejuvenation For Ryan : Ryan would be in his 60s by the time of the MMORPG (in exile from Russian around 1920 when he was about 12 according to the Novel). But all that genetic research - one project would have been very desirable - and completely within the realm of what ADAM technology had already achieved. A significant plot development for the whole Rapture story, particularly if the typical ADAM side-effects which might be associated with this 'therapy' might be reversible/avoidable via the work now being done by Tenenbaum in New Rapture. The side effects might also be exaggerated by the time we see it in the game because of the weaponization of Plasmids - causing more severe changes to the user, and Fontaine's INTENT may have been to make his followers mentally impaired, and also lower quality of bootlegged ADAM. --- --- --- ' "Evil" Ryan 'SEIZED' Fontaine Futuristics - Not Quite : ' No detail in-game about how long it took Ryan to make that decision (nor the City Council to consider the ramifications and then suggest the action). BTW, freezing/seizing a criminal's property/assets is a COMMON practice of American society's justice systems (to allow for victim restitution/reparations, etc...). Fontaine's businesses would be in chaos after his 'death', so how long before the capacity to make ADAM and the available supply starts dwindling (with the attendant hoarding by the addicts to accelerate that)? They made quite clear ADAM's addictive aspect (if not the major harmful side effects) to drive the games plot. Fontaine didn't seem to have any competent lieutenants (who would probably be jailed for the same crimes anyway, IF they did exist). How early did 'Atlas' crawl out of the woodwork and start stirring things up (trying to cause riots) by telling people there was an ADAM shortage (out of one side of his mouth), while also telling them 'Ryan was a Tyrant' for 'Seizing' Fontaine Futuristics (which Ryan WOULD HAVE PUBLICLY EXPLAINED was simply and OBVIOUSLY to MAINTAIN the ADAM production for the population). Too little real evidence/details of this process/events/process was given in the game - apart from all the vague complaints coming from Ryan's detractors (and some bizarre/idiotic declarations from McDonagh). It would have ruined the 'shooting game' if Ryan had simply let Fontaine Futuristics Shut Down, and let Rapture go 'cold turkey' (Remember not very many Citizens were addicted at September 1958 - as there apparently was little ADAM-User tumorism/insanity yet evident to sufficiently scare the rest into NOT using Fontaine's ADAM poison, which WOULD thereby largely eliminating ADAM from Rapture and the whole storyline). The 'rebel'/Terrorist Splicers would have soon lost their powers, leading to their elimination, and Rapture then could sail off into its Glorious Future. --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statement Andrew Ryan Would Make (another Player Contest ?) : Ryan Quotes - Another Player Created Asset (with Contests - actually do that for all Well-Known characters) Create a Ryan Appropriate Quote : * "One of the worst things is to hear : 'Don’t be alarmed. We’re from the government, and we’re here to help.' " * "If I believed in a God, Then I would definitely have a Hell for Bureaucrats where they themselves would be afflicted for eternity with the abuse they have perpetrated upon the Lives of others." * "We have to examine the people we let into Rapture better. We don't want any communists or other criminals in our City." * "Locking up Violent Splicers is NOT an imposition upon Free Will." * "The Pheromone Control I've employed does not steal Free Will from those who already have none. ADAM addiction is a cruel Slavemaster." * "Ask yourself, does A Rabid Dog have Free Will ?" * "When too many people make the wrong decision they call it "a Crash", but others call it a Readjustment and an Opportunity." * "Those who decide to not abide by Society's rules, should leave that Society and no longer have its protection." * "The Only Things Parasites Create have been made to ABUSE and CONTROL Others. We seek to eliminate that in Rapture." --- --- --- St Andrew (Andrei) - The Patron Saint of Russia : Yes, tell us again, Levine, how Andrew Ryan was really 'jewish' (He stated this in 2015, long after the games came out, and Levine was at that time looking for a new game job, and was spewing/spinning his (get noticed) idea of "Authentic Diversity". John Shirley, who wrote the BioShock Novel, never seems to have heard of this 'fact', and goes on in that book to name several of Andrew Ryan's close relatives in Russia (Belorussia was one of the founding 'Soviet Republics') who HAVE other Christian Saints names as well. So sorry, trying to drum up some work gig is no excuse for MORE After-The_Fact BioShock Canon breaking, Kenny. --- --- --- Ryan For The MMORPG : Lots more material in Flashbacks, old Audio Diaries, newspaper Clippings, Radio/TV interviews (and ALL being alot less manipulatively distorted than what was foisted on you by the original BioShock writers to facilitate their lame 'plot twist'...) --- The Parasites Lying Ways A Proposed MMORPG Audio Diary ... Have a comment made by Ryan about how F. D. Roosevelt and the Democrats stole credit for Hoover Dam from President Hoover, when Hoover before being President was fundamentally responsible for its getting built successfully (Hoover wasn't even invited to the dedication ceremony, and his name wasn't even mentioned in the speeches). Ryan derisively comments : "What Typical Parasites." --- --- --- --- --- ''' Rapture and Ryan, Ryan and Rapture - Ryan/Rapture Timeline : ' '''1919' * Ryan 12 ??? and his Father flee Soviet Russia (as per Novel) * Civil War in Russia. Poles stop Red Army invasion of Europe. 1920 ("The Year That Made the 20s Roar") * Anarchists attacks in America. Red Scare. * Ryan was likely in America (as a recent immigrant/refugee) * His Father previously a businessman in Russia likely had brought some money assets to give them a start. 20s * Ryan Arrives in the USA * Business Boom in USA * Ryan in School learns English and Engineering * Ryan's starts his business (electrical power) and expands rapidly 30s * Depression (some parts of America barely touched) * Socialism expands in USA (in Soviet Union they Murder millions of their own citizens) * Electric Power in America (and other parts of the World) rapidly expanding * Diversifying into other Industries Early 40s * War Years * Ryan effective at building business supporting war industries * Ryan substantially in Construction industry * Ryan's 'North Atlantic Project' planning/design and surveys Mid 40s * War ending, Ryan 'sees Writing On The Wall' about future Nuclear War * 'North Atlantic Project' goes forward with new urgency * The Rapture Trust (under a different name like 'Paradise Property') created to fund Rapture construction * First round investors * Ryan's Underwater Radio Telegraph Big thing in center of first big room in Rapture Central Control operates from Rapture to his Surface Organizations Late 40s * Various other Ryan assets start being sold off (no firesale - full value) * Rapture construction well underway * Ryan "Cuts Out The Middleman" and uses his own industry infrastructure for Rapture manufacture and construction * Additional 'rich people' come onboard to fund Rapture (some wanted/needed proof it was possible/existed) * Large-scale immigration of Rapture's Population * Ryan back and forth to Rapture NEED ECONOMY NUMBERS FOR THESE YEARS (there was a postware recession ???) Early 50s * Boom economy in US * Additional Ryan Empire assets sold at top dollar (Ryan's Hotline to Surface operational) * Rapture Construction completed - displacement of small part of workforce causes large effect in fragile economy * Stabilization as various adjustments made to make Rapture Self-Sufficient Late 50s * Ryan Surface assets still substantial, allows bringing in critical supplies and to preserve Rapture's secrecy. Other investors surface assets likewise being used. 59 * Terrorist Chaos in Rapture * Ryan Surface assets support Stabilization efforts(food/weapons) Early 60s * Pheromone Control neutralizes Fontaine/Atlas's Splicer terrorists * Ryan allegedly killed (but "Not Quite Dead") * Surface Assistance continues (income from monies/properties put into Rapture Trust) * Ryan goes 'dark' to test Rapture's people * Fontaine dead. * Ryan loyalists seized control Hephaestus after many crazies there eliminated. Late 60s * One determined Splicer/Alpha eliminated Sofia Lamb * Sofia Lamb's little Delusional Experiment Fails (the separated 'Rest of Rapture' survives) * Ryan's faction (centered in Hephaestus) keeps Rapture alive with help from Surface 1970 * New Rapture begins formed by several 'sane' Factions * Ryan Surface Organization assistance a great help * RYAN LIVES !!! NOTE- In Rapture, things didn't just happen instantly and in too rapid order as they did in that fantasy-written Infinite BS story timeline --- --- --- "Greatest Disappointment" ''' : Not sure why Ryan should be so down on 'Jack', who is so obviously been manufactured as a creature of Fontaine's (which Ryan is shown to have figured out in the WTF Room in Rapture Central Control). Instead of making Ryan become "a quitter"/Gotterdammerungesque, it should have reinforced his resolve to rebuild Rapture and eliminate the Pheromone Control he was forced to use, and go on to give humanity the environment to reach the potential of its 'Free Will' -- FREE of the endless manipulations of the Parasites, on The Surface (and in Rapture). Atlas would be ended and Rapture would be reborn. --- --- --- '''Ryan Was Winning : Wasn't it Atlas who was (nearly) cornered at the point Jack arrives? Without the Splicers to fight (now 'controlled' by Ryan) and a few remaining 'normals' (probably outclassed by Ryan's Splicers and Security men), Atlas was doomed and facing almost immediate defeat (maybe that's why Fontaine at this point was playing his 'Ace in the Hole'... (What did he call his Mr Atlas Body-Building ADAM Binge ? His "Royal Flush up his Sleeve" ? HE knew what Splicing did to a person, so he must have been really desperate at that point.). It wasn't Ryan's Philosophy that created Jack (evil people like Fontaine will use anything as a weapon), and as with all societies, it is upto the majority to defeat the 'evil' people'. Ordinary people were out of their minds/disrupted by something that was unexpectedly created (the actual 'Shock' of the games Title). Was the competitiveness of Ryan's Philosophy at fault ? OR rather the ruthlessness of people who didn't believe in Ryan's Philosophy (WHO didn't believe in individuals driving improvement, WHO just wanted to TAKE rather than GIVE) that were given an overwhelming weapon ? So Ryan had turned that weapon back upon them. Jack was a weapon who had NO Free Will (something that was a significant part of Ryan's Philosophy) -- Made that way (just as the 'Surface' people made people into parasites/slaves to the gain of others) - Something Ryan could fix (and he probably could see to Jack being freed -- If anything, so to prove a point). SO, Ryan was on the point of 'Winning' against Atlas, and would THEN seek to repair the damage done to Rapture (whatever the Pheromone 'Control' was, it could be eliminated, as Ryan had previously eliminated so many elements from the Surface world). WHY would Ryan abandon something he had based his life doing ? (( '' The writers story fell WELL short of its potential. '' )) --- --- --- Ryan's Trophy Wall - Corpses Put On Display : Seen in Hephaestus - How many of those 'Trophies' were killed 'in the act' of trying to murder Ryan (or even were killed by Ryan himself as they tried to murder him) ??? How many were Terrorists ?? LIKE FOR Attempting to blow up Rapture Central Control or to damage the City's Power ... THAT would be a major attack against Rapture's survival. Such a display might make a preventative impression on crazy Splicers, when more civilized measures have been proven to no longer work. It is strange that in the various Audio Diaries you don't hear condemnations of Atlas and his Anarchists/Terrorists for killing the diary speakers family members/friends/colleagues. Remember that the actions that Ryan took were in reaction to the death and destruction brought about by Outlaws/Criminals. The 'class warfare' alibi was rather weakly contrived to excuse murder and mayhem by the supposed many (exaggerated) 'downtrodden', which Ryan and Rapture (according to the writers belief/storyline) were supposed to unconditionally provide Welfare (Facilitate Parasitim) for. Note that McDonagh's body wasn't there on THAT WALL. Perhaps McDonagh saw reason or changed whatever his bizarre thinking had been (unlike in the Novel which isn't quite Canon). --- --- --- Ryan Being Misunderstood (Intentionally "Twisted into the Fall Guy" By The Writers) : Many people left in Rapture possibly never 'turned' on Ryan, as he was most likely the only one keeping them alive. We are largely shown comments by malcontents and outright traitors -- traitors to not just Ryan, but Rapture itself. There would be thousands of other citizen survivors we conveniently never heard from or saw. The real madness (or as I put it dim-witted plot contrivance) was having Ryan kill himself (by Ryan ordering Jack to kill him) when at that point Ryan had almost won completely against Atlas/Fontaine, and would have a chance to restore HIS City. The Game Writers completely missed a truly Epic 'twist' : Where what we saw Ryan do could actually have been Ryan Faking his own Death, much like Fontaine had done. But sadly NO, they missed that opportunity which could have left the rest of the plot much the same (blast/kill/boom/kill/kill mutated Fontaine, help cute Lil Sisters, etc....), and ' SPRING IT at the very end that *Ryan Lived*... ' (It so easily could have even been one of the animatronic Ryan dummies from Ryan Amusements that the ADAM_Addled/delusional Jack THOUGHT he killed - If Ryan really didn't trust the Vita Chambers (like how were they exactly actually tested ??? ... when ONLY set for Ryan's genetic pattern ????????????????????)-- Ryan could have manipulated Jack all kinds of ways, once he understood (as seen Ryan had pieced together in that WYK Room) how Jack was being controlled. --- --- --- A General Lack of Logic in A Game Allegedly with 'Story' ''': Ryan's 'Trophy Wall' - More a Warning of what happens to Traitors (Assassins killed by those Loyal to Ryan ...) A bunch of people who worked for Ryan there did not seem to have much loyalty to him (with their assassination attempts and all - those ones shown pinned up on that wall leading to Rapture Central Control). Consider that there were many hundreds more who worked for Ryan and Rapture, who we have no evidence that they followed such a path. It seems a bit fabricated and idiotic (a case of 'The Plot Says So') that McDonagh thinks it is going to be better by handing Fontaine's Plasmid Manufacturing Facilities over to the thugs/criminals who worked with Fontaine, so they can hand Plasmids to Atlas's terrorists. Exactly WHO SHOULD Ryan be handing Fontaine Futuristics over to? Especially since Fontaine probably was not one to share power with Anyone ? The Designers/Devs seem to have shoveled out the "Ryan is the Bad Guy" stuff pretty thick, with few real explanations of why Ryan did certain things, and suggest virtually no reasonable/likely/logical alternatives (like shutting Fontaine Futuristics down as a public health hazard, or maintaining/converting it to work on a Cure...). Later a 'civil war'-ish thing is raging and Ryan is supposed to give up an equalizer (control of Splicers/most of the ADAM supply), and let Atlas's army of Splicers take over Rapture instead ?? Madness. --- --- --- '''Convenient Inconsistency of Ryan and Of Events Staged in The Game It (the whole game) was all a setup/fabrication for the WYK Ryan swansong 'Twist' which is pretty "dim" (a kinder word than "stupid") in itself. Ryan's character was UNLIKELY to be a *Surrender Monkey*, that being quite contradictory to all the other things explained about him in the game. This makes you think - how fast the 'Atlas Problem' really would have actually been over IF Ryan had offered 10000 ADAM to anyone taking Atlas "Dead or Alive" (everyone seemed right-pleased to be gunning for Jack because of a 1000 ADAM Bounty -- so how long could Atlas hold out against such a Proscription ???) If anything, it would have curtailed alot of Fontaine/Atlas's activities while he was alive, as he would never know when he might turn around and get a shotgun blast in the chest/face. The Splicers whom he 'led', being insane, might not EVER be too trustworthy. It would just take one successful attempt, and then "Problem Solved". Pathetic. We need better writing than this from games - particularly a franchise they endlessly touted as being about 'story'. --- --- --- Ryan's philosophy was about letting people decide for themselves and get the greater benefits or less penalties resulting from those decisions. Let the People/Citizens of Rapture use the ADAM products if they wanted. They weren't obviously (convenient to the game story) seen as harmful at first, and it is most likely Fontaine purposefully had his minions 'splice up' into virtual monsters (look at the ads for the consumer Plasmids and Tonics -- the ones Fontaine and Atlas had their minions employ far exceeded what those were). The Pheromone Control thing was Ryan neutralizing Atlas's Splicers, to stop them from tearing up his city, to stop them from murdering people in the streets and wrecking the economy (all the stuff Rapture's Citizens needed to survive at that point and afterward). And the real effects of Pheromones can hardly be called 'mind control'. They (the Game Authors) never really exposed what would have been Ryan's plan to rebuild/recover the City, and find a Cure for those maimed by ADAM (plans he surely must have had before Jack arrived). Atlas had pretty much been defeated by the time we come blundering thru as Jack, and unknowingly (or are programmed to) assist Fontaine (either way - there's no choice really there). It all simply made sure Ryan had no opportunity to fix Rapture. --- --- --- The Elephant in The Room (at Ryan's Council Meetings) : What to do about Atlas (just let the Security do its work and get the populace to cooperate). ("The Elephant in The Room" was actually a Jimmy Durante bit that became a Meme ) THE MEETING (example of a City Council Meeting) --- --- --- Saturn's Utopian Reign (Virgil) -- I thought 'still alive' Ryan was calling himself 'Zeus' now ??? --- --- --- Tired of Eating Fish (heard in Novel) ?? ''' : Ryan : "Make a Better Fishstick" Beef-E, etc ... --- --- --- '''Too much of the Game (BS1) was "Ryan Baadddd" ... : Just more of the same vague contrivance to facilitate 'that Evil Ryan - it is all his fault' manipulation to enable that lame game 'twist' (which has you following the wishes of the lying terrorist who you are misled(forced) to believe is 'the good guy' - it is shoveled on pretty thick - with nothing you could change if you thought otherwise, anyway). BS2 and that DLC just followed that pattern. Since the whole narrative is so spotty, WE have to fill in the details ourselves (That's been said over and over). Ryan is no doubt pissed over reports that Fontaine isn't Playing Ball/Cricket (by the rules in Rapture). Fontaine 'gets a pass' with his thuggish business practices, the smuggling that Ryan KNOWS (but somehow cant prove - for years) is being done by Fontaine, various stories about children being abused, businessmen/citizens threatened/murdered, addictive poison being sold to consumers, the facilitating of Parasitism, etc.. etc.. etc... SO Ryan will do what he does best - Out-compete his opponents. 'Give the Chain a tug' - give Fontaine a proper opponent in this new thing happening in Rapture - Give Rapture 'A Better Product'. And then Fontaine WILL go - completely outdone once Ryan comes upto bat - and all Ryan WOULD need to do would be a 'tug' (Ryan talking to himself didn't say "I'll string that SOB Fontaine up with the Great Chain and tow him around behind by Limo-Sub to feed the fish !!!". (Ryan was a good/extremely successful experienced industrialist businessman and Fontaine was just a thug/conman - completely out of Ryan's class ). And It was obvious that Ryan didn't simply have Fontaine killed, like Fontaine in his place would have done in an instant. And as for 'flaming hoops' (as in 'jumping through') THAT is why it took so long for Ryan to finally get Fontaine - he did it LEGALLY - an legal arrest for Smuggling where Fontaine chose to resist Rapture's Police Authorities - and in those days Cops didn't think twice about firing back at criminals. Don't forget about the dangerous/murderous Splicers Fontaine employed, evident at 'the shootout' - mentioned by McDonagh I recall (hardly a kosher business practice that... dontcha think ????). Only later (in BaS) did they bother (in-game) to publicly express reasonings/justifications showing that the people in Rapture WOULD HAVE agreed with what Ryan subsequently did. They (Rapture's Citizens) were people from THAT time, AND NOT NOW -- and they would perfectly understand putting down a dangerous criminal abusing their freedoms and safety. The original game spews its ignorance of how things in the real world work, totally avoiding the fact that the Libertarian/Objectivist system installed in Rapture would HAVE THE PEOPLE carry out and SEE Justice done, and not just lay it all upon Ryan for that lame-assed simpleton's plot. The writing cannot justify this by the chaotic settings vagueness, as it was completely missing when endless 'hints' forced the story the opposite way. I don't hold Ryan blameless (or rather I DO HOLD THE WRITER TO BLAME for the way he is contrived/made to STUPIDLY act in this game -- again as a setup/a required environment for the shoot-fest nature of the game). I've certainly enumerated all the illogic and ignorant assumptions about how they (game writers) have things work - If you simply dismiss/discount all those, then you can actually start piecing it together. When you look at what Ryan did - like a long time waiting for Rapture's people to handle the ADAM problem - mysteriously they never do. THEN when Ryan actually acts, all we hear is detractors from biased sources (none from the majority of Rapture -- because THAT would blow the writer's little contrived plotline out of the water) - "Ryan is Bad/Tyrant" is their anthem, when in the real world (for people of THAT TIME) Ryan acted as the Hero to the type of people that would have gone to Rapture. They would all want Anarchist Atlas gone, for the same reasons Ryan did. It can hardly be made plainer. I'm just sad that, by and large, the storyline was a manipulative hack job, and only window dressing for a shooter-fest game (and the hype it got for allegedly being something *special* -- most expressed by the writers themselves, only shows how poor the whole gaming industry's products have become). It is funny, because the later (Infinite BS) story drivel is magnitudes worse. --- --- --- BS2 - Why should Ryan Show (Some) Admiration for Fontaine While Disparaging Sinclair ?? : More Strawman rubbish from the later Devs, when Ryan most certainly SHOULD/WOULD have already known what a scum-bucket/criminal Fontaine was already ??? Fontaine's unlawful gangsterism could hardly be kept secret in Free Press Rapture. Ryan thought Sinclair was an opportunist ? And somehow Fontaine was not ? Sinclair might not have believed in 'The Great Chain' the same way Ryan did, but was still in business for himself and his own advancement -- Which was STILL a large part of Ryan's Philosophy, and Sinclair went ALONG with and supported and made work Ryan's system, instead of trying to break it as Fontaine did. Are the writers implying that Sinclair cheated people ? Yes they did. And no he didn't. Yet they ever actually showed any real evidence of that ? It was Half-Explaining to so many ignorant Players how business works - done to intentionally distort the situation. The writers have SAID that 'Let the Buyer Beware' WAS the watchword in Rapture's Philosophy -- Where YOU are responsible for your own decisions. And Free Speech wasn't blocked in Rapture (That is the traditional COUNTER to 'Let the Buyer Beware' where REPUTATION was the system in force.) Sinclair a 'Huckster' ? Ryan would understand that small businesses/niches would make up more of Rapture's economy than the larger Big-Market-type industries of The Surface World (the ones Rapture was far too small to actually support). - THIS IS Inconsistency from Game Developers who have to make their characters mouth whatever they found convenient to set the tone they were contriving.... More 'Laying It On Thick' to make Sinclair out as a dodgy character - While forcing a simpleton-style condemnation of Capitalism (and Ryan) at the same time. Part of the puzzle/challenge of the MMORPG will be trying to resolve/repair such original inconsistencies. --- --- --- Andrew Ryan Knew : Andrew Ryan says he initially suspects that Jack is a CIA spook, then later comes to the conclusion that he is NOT - based on his behavior : How come Andrew Ryan did not notice Jack's entrance to Rapture was with a Bathysphere? While of course Atlas does (but then Jack is his pawn), and the order went out to get Jack to Rapture, and Fontaine may have made sure a Bathysphere was there waiting for Jack. If Ryan DID notice, might he easily figured out Jack is his own blood (that stolen embryo... etc), therefore he could now be playing a game with Jack (and Atlas). But then how did Fontaine arrange the Bathysphere to be there (not having Ryan blood for the Genetic Lock), if the system is supposed to be truly 'locked'? Was the Lockdown system not as lock-tight (as they made you believe in telling the story - "Sure, the boys in Ryan's lab can make it hack-proof. But that don't mean we ain't gonna hack it."). There supposedly were many privately owned 'submarines' (mis-called "Bathyspheres") and even Fontaine Futuristics made some. But that was a Metro Bathysphere (still with the old Ryan greeting message). Ryan might notice the event anyway because there should have been NO Bathysphere waiting at the Surface station (nice and ready to take anyone wandering by on the sea down to Rapture ???). Sorry, with Ryan shown to be so serious about secrecy and preventing detection, it should not have been left there as part of any normal happenings (heck he should have had the Lighthouse torn down long since). So much for Ryans 'paranoia' by not keeping a better watch on the entrance to Rapture ... or did he know more about what was going on - setting up 'conning' Atlas ?). Because of the Vita Chambers ("Set supposedly ONLY to Ryan's Frequency") Jacks use of those might have been a tipoff also (The outraged Splicers wanting their Bounty Reward (1000 ADAM) definitely would have complained to Ryan). This story detail all could be skipped as being tainted 'Canon' because of the game's Auto-Save variation they created employing it, but if "ITS CANON" then it could be more evidence for Ryan to know well ahead of time who Jack must be. --- --- --- Tesla Was Still Alive In 1948 ''': Perhaps Ryan (Being a 'world-class' Power Tech engineer) had known Nikola Tesla (the MMORPG can have backstory '''name dropping too ... ) --- --- --- Ryan was Winning - SO Why Suddenly Did He Turn Surrender Monkey? (Except "Was Needed For The Plot") ''' : Wasn't it Atlas who was (nearly) cornered at the point Jack arrives ? (Likely why the 'Ace in the Hole' was activated??) Without the Splicers to fight for him (now 'controlled' by Ryan), and with few remaining Atlas Supporters (un-spliced normals), and probably far outclassed by Ryan's Splicers and Security men, Atlas was doomed and facing almost immediate defeat. And then THAT failed. (What did Fontaine call his Mr Atlas Body-Building ADAM Binge ? His "Royal Flush up his Sleeve" ? Or the "Inside Straight" ? - As it was a desperate act ...). It wasn't Ryan's Philosophy that created Jack (Evil people like Fontaine will USE anything and anyone as a weapon to get what they want). As with all Societies, it is upto the majority to defeat the 'evil' people'. A number of ordinary people were out of their minds/disrupted by something that was unexpectedly created. Was the competitiveness of Ryan's 'Philosophy' at fault for this ? OR Rather, was it the ruthlessness of people who DIDN'T believe that Philosophy ? (Those who didn't believe in individuals driving improvement, who just wanted to TAKE rather than GIVE/PRODUCE ?) Miscreant who were conveniently given an overwhelming weapon ? So Ryan then had turned that weapon back upon them (or at least nullified it). Jack was a weapon who had No Free Will (a significant part of Ryan's philosophy) -- Jack was '''MADE that way (just as the 'Surface' people made people into parasites/slaves by denying them freedom) - Something Ryan could fix (and he probably could have seen to Jack being freed -- if anything, to Prove A Point). Ryan was on the point of 'winning' against Atlas, and THEN he would seek to repair the damage done to Rapture. Whatever the 'Pheromone Control' was, it could be-eliminated/its use discontinued, as Ryan had previously worked to remove Parasitic elements from his Rapture society. WHY would Ryan abandon something he had based his life doing and THEN so easily give up on his greatest achievement ? IT makes NO SENSE as it goes against everything we knew about Ryan. That's a VERY poor contrived story telling in my opinion (Like SO many lame-assed movies these days where neat visual "scenes" are the producers goal, and a weak/feeble plot is loosely woven to try to fit together to provide reason for those 'scenes'). --- --- --- Ryan Be De Ebil ? : http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/BioShock_2_Multiplayer_Loading_Screen_Quotes ATLAS : Portrait of a Parasite - Andrew Ryan explains the 'Ways of the Weak' "Apollo Square Condemned - Anyone Entering or Exiting will be Shot on Sight.." Atlas's supporters inhabit this place and Atlas (who's Splicers murdered citizens in the streets) is frequently seen there. Its a warren for "The Enemies of Raptures Survival". Why not just close/seal the doors and turn off the power and air and kill all the Terrorists inside ? Those who wish to escape will be vetted as they leave, and those prevented by the evil ones WILL be turned on inside. It is Not Even required to kill them all - Just to weaken and thin them out/isolate them/take their hostages away. Delay long enough and their addiction will overcome them. Simply kill them all ???? Ryan did not do that apparently. Sofia Lamb would have. Fontaine would have. But remember Ryan is supposedly "the Bad Guy"... The One condemned whether he allegedly goes with or against 'His Principles and Philosophy'. But then, we never really heard from all the people who Ryan managed to protect and keep alive during this attack upon the city's survival. They were people who had gone through WW2 and knew about when strong measures were needed to handle real evil. --- --- --- In Defense of Ryan : Quote from Somewhere on the Interwebz I cant Find again : "Also Ryan can be seen to resemble d'Anconia', as he is willing to compromise his principles to defeat the 'Looter' enemy which cannot be otherwise defeated. Perhaps he did have some grand plan to defeat Atlas and return victorious, perhaps his plan was Jack, a living metaphor for Ryan himself; he that was controlled by his foes into unspeakable acts, does himself defeat his foes by sheer resolve and will power. " - The WYK room in Rapture Central Control shows that Ryan has worked out what was happening, and all the (little) resistance that Jack runs into seems just a ploy (consider if you could ever fight a 'Zerg Rush' of 20 Fly-bots and 30 Splicers simultaneously... Ryan would have resources like that to stop you). The part the developers missed was they COULD have had a EPIC Twist of Ryan Faking His Death (like Fontaine had), and then aiming Jack at Fontaine (even if at that point Ryan had just about won the 'civil war' and Atlas was on his last legs - It would have been ironic for Wanna-be King Atlas to be done in by his own Pawn.) Another wheel within a wheel - Ryan using Jack as a precipitator -- to expose other opponents that also might exist in the City which he would have to deal with AFTER he dealt with Fontaine/Atlas. Tenenbaum surfaces (Ryan may need HER to assist in a Cure for his City), Sander Cohen comes out of the woodwork, Steinman, etc.... SO with all the reasons, we only saw what Ryan wanted us to see, it is completely plausible' he can be back for a sequel (or better in this Rapture Reborn MMORPG), as a shadowy force still pulling strings and guiding HIS city to its future). --- --- --- --- --- . .